(A MUST READ) All you need to know about Muhammad Ali the greatest

Muhammad Ali is widely regarded as the
greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time, and
his career achievements will probably never be
repeated. Outside of the ring, Ali is an equally
as special human being. He is a man who will
undoubtedly be remembered forever, for a
myriad of reasons; the main of which is his
unparalleled boxing talent.
Muhammad Ali took
up the sport of
boxing at the age of
12 (at which time
he was known as
Cassius Clay, his
birth name), and
remarkably just ten
years later he was
crowned
heavyweight
champion of the world. Prior to this, his career
started perfectly with two national Golden
Gloves titles, and a gold medal at the 1960
Olympic Games in Rome. It was already evident
at this stage in Ali’s career that he had a bright
future in boxing, and his reputation began to
spread beyond his home of Louisville, Kentucky.
Just months after his success at the Olympics,
Ali turned professional, and amassed a total of
19 victories from 19 fights within three years.
His 20th fight was without doubt the biggest and
most important of his life. His opponent was
Sonny Liston, who held ‘The Ring’, WBA and
WBC world heavyweight belts going into the
fight. In the 1960’s, Liston was akin to Mike
Tyson, with a huge right hand and a strong,
intimidating physique. Ali was written off before
either man even stepped in the ring, as the
whole boxing
community believed
Liston to be
unbeatable. The
fight proved to
define Ali’s career.
In the build-
up,Muhammad Ali was broadcasted on
television for the first time, showing-off his
confident attitude and slick, humorous “trash-
talking” which is still popular amongst all
generations today. Ali’s rapid footwork and fast
hands proved troubling for Liston, who despite
landing some heavy shots, struggled to find his
way in the fight. At the start of the seventh
round, the unthinkable happened, as Liston
refused to get up from his corner, and
surrendered. Ali jumped to the ropes before
declaring to the world, “I’m the greatest!”
From this point on, Muhammad Ali truly was
the greatest. He knocked Liston out in the first
round of their rematch and continued on a
stunning winning streak. However, in 1967, he
was suspended from boxing and sent to jail for
conscientiously objecting to joining the army in
the Vietnam War. This resulted in Ali losing out
on four prime years of his career, and who
knows how much more he would have achieved
had he not been incarcerated.
Nonetheless,Muhammad Ali returned to the ring,
but in his thirty-first
professional fight,
he suffered his first
ever loss to Joe
Frazier by
unanimous decision
in an epic 15-round battle, which was later to
be dubbed “The Fight of the Century”. In 1974,
Ali avenged this loss and then went on to regain
the titles he lost to Frazier in the “Rumble in the
Jungle” with an eight round knockout against
George Foreman. Ali then beat Frazier once
more in their third and final contest, and at 36
years of age he forged another rivalry with Leon
Spinks, where he lost and then won back his
heavyweight world championships.Muhammad
Ali’s career concluded with two defeats, and
many argue that he should have retired sooner.
He hung up his gloves just shy of 40 years old,
and with a record of 56 wins from 61 fights (37
by KO), he lived up to his claim as “the
greatest”!
Boxing aside,
Muhammad Ali
made a difference in
many ways. He was
a prominent civil
rights activist for
African-Americans,
and most of his talking was done within the
ropes, which for Ali was the best and easiest
way to silence any critics. His objection to war
also inspired many, and he was not nicknamed
“The People’s Champion” without good reason.
In 1984,Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s Syndrome, a disease believed to
have been caused by head injuries he suffered
from boxing. His health has dramatically
deteriorated, but even now Ali continues to fight
on, as he has done throughout his boxing
career and life. He died at age 74 in the early hours of June 4, 2016

(A MUST READ) All you need to know about Muhammad Ali the greatest
Reviewed by Bernard Ralph Adams
on
6/04/2016 08:05:00 AM
Rating: 5